


The Clock Lies Still

by CrimsonRaven



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-01
Updated: 2013-06-01
Packaged: 2017-12-13 14:42:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/825478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrimsonRaven/pseuds/CrimsonRaven
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Time hasn't moved in years. No one in Storybrooke seems to really notice. But somewhere deep inside, they do notice. And it bothers them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Clock Lies Still

_~~~  
Wake up.  
~~~_

Regina watches.

The clock is still.

She watches as they all mindlessly go about their routine.

It’s all she can really do as everything will reset itself the next day.

Hopefully the lingering magic keeps Henry from noticing.

_~~~  
Eat Breakfast.  
~~~_

Soft beeping fills the still air as the hospital slowly comes to life. Dr. Whale checks on his patients. Some are doing better. Some are not. He briefly ponders how long they’ll stay here as he checks the monitors for his mystery coma patient. 

Still no change in John Doe. 

He doesn’t remember how long John has been in a coma.

_~~~  
Go to Class.  
~~~_

_My name is Rumplestiltskin._

Mr. Gold opens his shop. 

He walks the same path every day.

The Mayor’s brown eyes stare at him. He can feel it. 

_Regina is the Evil Queen and the curse worked._

He takes great pains to keep the same expression on his face. To walk the same path each day. If he doesn’t, she’ll know and confront him. If she confronts him, things will spiral downwards. He needs this to work perfectly. Even if it means having the same outward routine in her eyes.

He will find what he is looking for in this land without magic.

_I have a son named Baelfire._

_~~~  
Fill Out Paperwork.  
~~~_

Pongo is whining. His human is taking too long.

Archie finishes his coffee as he reaches for the leash in the Dalmatian’s mouth. It’s the blue one today. The lines on his face crinkle with a smile as he clips the leash onto the collar. 

Walk Pongo.

Greet the Mayor. 

Go to his office. 

He flips through his schedule as the names on the list meet his eyes. 

He likes that he helps someone get through their day, even if it’s just by listening to their problems. Even if it's a little draining.

Maybe they’ll feel better tomorrow. He hopes so.

Kind fingers rub the fur on his dog’s head as he waits with a smile.

_~~~  
Eat Lunch.  
~~~_

Ruby’s head hurts. She can’t remember the night before except that there was a party somewhere and she blacked out. She grins as the foggy details of a party that she can’t recall try to fill her mind. 

Inspecting herself in the mirror, green eyes scan the waitress outfit that is going to be worn to the diner that morning. Granny’s going to have an aneurysm one of these days, what with catching her sneaking into the house after a hard night of partying. She gets stuck with the morning shift as punishment for staying out at such a late hour. That’s how they work. It always happens, but she goes out anyway.

She sighs and groans in pain as a dull throb beats against her skull.

Oh well.

Time for work. 

_~~~  
Go Home.  
~~~_

Mary Margaret apologizes to the Mayor. She feels like it happens every day with the way Regina looks at her. Scolding herself for her carelessness, she can’t help but wonder what had her in such a daze on her walk to the school. 

Shaking her head, deft fingers open one of the windows to her classroom. Taking in a deep breath of fresh air, she prepares herself for the children that will soon be in their seats eager to learn.

A soft smile adorns her face when the children finally arrive an hour or so later.

It feels as if she’s known them for years.

_~~~  
Eat Dinner.  
~~~_

Kathryn stares at the picture on her end table. Sorrow clouds her thoughts as she wishes that they didn’t argue. That they didn’t yell. If they didn’t, David might still be there by her side.

She doesn’t even know where he is or how to contact him if she did.

Loneliness and regret creep into the tense air as she curls into herself on the corner of her couch.

Her quiet sobs echo throughout the house.

_~~~  
Brush Teeth.  
~~~_

Fiddling with the gas pump, Graham swears he filled the tank of his car yesterday.

Sliding behind the wheel with practiced ease, he briefly considers how much trouble he’d get in if he locked Leroy up before he goes to The Rabbit Hole and save himself the trouble.

It seems that Leroy gets into a bar fight every single night. He's lost track of how often this has happened.

Maybe Regina will call him today. 

_~~~  
Go to Sleep.  
~~~_

Wake up. Get ready for school. Mom’s making pancakes. Hug her goodbye as he races off to school from her car. His mother is the mayor and she still makes sure she has the time to drop him off at school and pick him up on time after. Sometimes they walk together, but she never lets him go alone as she stays by his side.

Always. 

It’s his routine and he likes it. 

He absentmindedly sits next to a boy in Ms. Blanchard’s class. They’ve all known each other forever, but he can never remember when they met exactly. Preschool, he thinks. But it doesn’t matter; he’s too busy looking through a new book that Ms. Blanchard bought for the class a few days ago. It’s about fairy tales. He always did like fairy tales. 

A fog seems to lift from the back of his mind as he stands up to ask his teacher where she bought the book. 

Henry wonders if his mom likes fairy tales too.

_~~~  
Repeat.  
~~~_

**Author's Note:**

> Yea, my sister and I were just talking about how time was frozen in Storybrooke while rewatching a few episodes. We started wondering how it might affect the town residents. Being frozen in time, the day apparently being the same each time, and not knowing. Ended up writing it out. Yep. 
> 
> Well, I hope that you like it. :)


End file.
